Published: Saturday, July 20, 2013 at 6:29 p.m.

Last Modified: Saturday, July 20, 2013 at 6:29 p.m.

The irony is not lost on Sheriff Chris Blair that, when October rolls around, deputies will be asked to enforce an anti-texting-and-driving law while they themselves rove the streets with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the laptop computers jutting from their dashboards.

Marion County Sheriff’s Deputy Cary Gallop uses a computer in his car on June 12, 2001. Sheriff Chris Blair has ordered deputies to not use their computers while driving, effective July 1. (File)

So Blair recently issued a pair of edicts: No texting while driving and no typing on computers while driving.

The former would seem to be an easy call since cellphones aren't considered emergency equipment.

But enforcing a ban on computer use while driving is a little trickier, given that many law enforcement agencies have gone to “silent dispatch” systems that allow dispatchers to assign calls to officers via computer.

No more, Blair said.

As of July 1, the first-term sheriff mandated that all deputies communicate with dispatchers by radio so their attention isn't split between the road and a computer screen.

“If we're going to be out there writing tickets to people who are texting while driving, the sheriff doesn't want to have deputies typing on their laptops,” said Chief Fred LaTorre, second in command at the Sheriff's Office. “If you're running 100 miles an hour to a call for service and you have to look over at your screen, that's just dangerous.”

Most patrol vehicles operated by law enforcement agencies in Marion County have laptop computers mounted to the right of the driver.

The computers allow officers to view calls being dispatched to them and their fellow officers, to run checks on vehicles and suspects and to fill out their probable cause affidavits after they arrest someone.

While much of their computer work is done while deputies are parked, Blair is concerned that the silent dispatch system forces officers to glance back and forth between their computers and the road and, worse, to type their responses to the calls while driving.

Legally, they can do it, because the anti-texting law passed by the Florida Legislature in the spring exempts law enforcement officers, but it doesn't make it any safer, LaTorre said.

“There may be an exemption for law enforcement, but some attorney is not going to care about that if we cause great bodily harm while typing on a computer,” he said. “Or worse, we could lose an officer.”

The other disadvantage of the silent dispatch system is that officers who are not monitoring the computer do not know a deputy is responding to a call and may need backup.

Department commanders heading to or from work, or who are out in the community for other reasons, “may be a few blocks away from a call and they don't even know about it because they don't have laptops in their cars,” LaTorre said. “If the call is dispatched over the radio, everybody knows about it and can respond to back up the officer if they're nearby.”

<p>The irony is not lost on Sheriff Chris Blair that, when October rolls around, deputies will be asked to enforce an anti-texting-and-driving law while they themselves rove the streets with one hand on the steering wheel and the other on the laptop computers jutting from their dashboards.</p><p>So Blair recently issued a pair of edicts: No texting while driving and no typing on computers while driving.</p><p>The former would seem to be an easy call since cellphones aren't considered emergency equipment.</p><p>But enforcing a ban on computer use while driving is a little trickier, given that many law enforcement agencies have gone to “silent dispatch” systems that allow dispatchers to assign calls to officers via computer.</p><p>No more, Blair said.</p><p>As of July 1, the first-term sheriff mandated that all deputies communicate with dispatchers by radio so their attention isn't split between the road and a computer screen.</p><p>“If we're going to be out there writing tickets to people who are texting while driving, the sheriff doesn't want to have deputies typing on their laptops,” said Chief Fred LaTorre, second in command at the Sheriff's Office. “If you're running 100 miles an hour to a call for service and you have to look over at your screen, that's just dangerous.”</p><p>Most patrol vehicles operated by law enforcement agencies in Marion County have laptop computers mounted to the right of the driver.</p><p>The computers allow officers to view calls being dispatched to them and their fellow officers, to run checks on vehicles and suspects and to fill out their probable cause affidavits after they arrest someone.</p><p>While much of their computer work is done while deputies are parked, Blair is concerned that the silent dispatch system forces officers to glance back and forth between their computers and the road and, worse, to type their responses to the calls while driving.</p><p>Legally, they can do it, because the anti-texting law passed by the Florida Legislature in the spring exempts law enforcement officers, but it doesn't make it any safer, LaTorre said.</p><p>“There may be an exemption for law enforcement, but some attorney is not going to care about that if we cause great bodily harm while typing on a computer,” he said. “Or worse, we could lose an officer.”</p><p>The other disadvantage of the silent dispatch system is that officers who are not monitoring the computer do not know a deputy is responding to a call and may need backup.</p><p>Department commanders heading to or from work, or who are out in the community for other reasons, “may be a few blocks away from a call and they don't even know about it because they don't have laptops in their cars,” LaTorre said. “If the call is dispatched over the radio, everybody knows about it and can respond to back up the officer if they're nearby.”</p>